West Ross 'much needed' homes kicked out
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PLANS to knock down a derelict corner shop and replace it with a block of 12 flats in Kyle have been turned down.
Highland Council’s north area planning applications committee voted 8-2 to refuse the new homes at a meeting in Inverness.
Members said it would constitute over-development of the Station Road site and the building would have an adverse impact on neighbouring properties.
Planning officers had recommended approval, despite 15 objections from businesses and residents.
Dafydd Jones, north area planning manager, said it would regenerate a long-neglected site and provide "much needed" affordable housing.
However, Isabelle Campbell, councillor for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh, said the scheme was "far too big".
She said those who moved into the flats would use scarce parking spaces instead of walking 120 yards to designated parking bays which would have been built to service the building.
Council planner Graham Sharp insisted there was sufficient parking bays to service the flats.
He said it was "not the job of the applicant to solve all of Kyle’s parking problems".
But Councillor Campbell insisted parking in Kyle was already "at crisis point".
"I watch tourists drive into Kyle and when they see the car parks are full they just drive over the Skye Bridge," she said.
"The businesses in Kyle have been totally disadvantaged because of the lack of parking."
